Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Texas: Kerr Wildlife Management Area and Big Bend-July 23 and 24

I
flew to San Antonio on Tuesday, July 23 arriving between 12:00 and 12:30 and
drove to Kerrville and Kerr WMA.Kerr
WMA has both Golden-cheeked Warblers and Black-capped Vireos, an efficient
place to get these birds assuming that they are still on territory.“Warblers” by Dunn and Garret, a Peterson
Field Guide, states that Golden-cheeked Warblers remain on territory until late
July, stating “Most birds have departed the breeding grounds by the beginning
of August.”I have a chance to still add
these birds, but they will not be singing, so they may be tough to find.I arrived at Kerr WMA at 3:00 to 3:30 pm, and
checked out the posted information on the bulletin boards.It had been ten to twelve years since I had
been to Kerr WMW to see Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler.All the paper maps at the kiosk were depleted.I stopped in the office and asked for a map
and a bird list, both of which were provided.There were two good areas for Black-capped Vireo.I went to the area near a shelter up the
entry road from the office in the area named Doe on the map near North Owl
Meadows, where I had last seen Black-capped Vireo 10 to 12 years ago.I had first seen Black-capped Vireo and
Golden-cheeked Warbler during my first visit to Texas in 1978.During this visit, I was prepared to wait
until later in the afternoon closer to sunset when bird activity would pick up
or even stay overnight and try again in the morning.Between 5:00 and 5:30 pm, I found my first
Black-capped Vireo.I had attracted a
noisy Bewick’s Wren, a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, Northern Cardinals with young, Field
Sparrows with young, a Lesser Goldfinch as well as a singing Painted
Bunting.First, I heard the Black-capped
Vireo call note, a series of rapid scolding notes like a mixture of titmouse,
chickadee and vireo.It flew into an
opening near the Bewick’s Wren showing the bold wing-bars, the olive back,
yellow flanks and the black cap with the white spectacle.There appeared to be two birds in the area,
feeding low in the underbrush.These
birds were not singing, but were calling and giving the scolding notes.I was able to get a few poor photos in the late day bright sunshine, resulting in washout in the photo.See photo below.I heard one more bird in this area near the shelter but back more
towards the main entrance.I left the
Doe shelter area at about 5:30 pm and drove about 0.7 miles back toward
Kerrville on FM 1340 to the Spring Trap Gate where Golden-cheeked Warbler
breeds at Kerr WMA.There was a report
on Tex Birds in the second week of July of Golden-cheeked Warbler being seen
here.The woods along the path were very
quiet and dead with no activity at first, but then I started to hear quiet bird
calls and eventually found a Golden-cheeked Warbler.This bird was in a stand of large cedars
surrounded by oaks further up the hill.I managed a few photos, (See photo below) and saw the golden cheeks, the dark eye line and
the white under-parts with no yellow or yellowish tinges.I stayed a while walking further up the hill,
hoping for luck to strike again, but eventually gave up and walked back toward
the gate.With the gate in sight, I
found two more Golden-cheeked Warblers that flew into an oak and stayed in the
upper canopy.One of these birds showed
the solid black back, a male.I never
saw the second bird well enough to see if it was a female or another male.I left Spring Trap at about 6:30 pm and drove
to the second entrance road beyond the main entrance road and continued up the
second entrance road to a windmill.This
area is another good area for Black-capped Vireo and was full of birds, Field
Sparrows with fledged young, Lark Sparrows, a Yellow-billed Cuckoo and
Ash-throated Flycatcher.I heard a Black-capped
Vireo scold at this site, but left after a short while at about 7:30 pm,
feeling very fortunate about my success in finding these birds.In a few more weeks, it would not have been
possible.However, the vireo and warbler
seemed to still be on their breeding territories, but not singing.I drove back toward Kerrville and without my
GPS (data connection lost!) found my way back to the next exit west of
Kerrville on I-10.On my way back to
I-10, I was stopped by a local Sheriff for speeding.I had not seen the first speed limit sign,
because it was too close to a blind intersection turn, but slowed down immediately when saw a 35 mph speed limit sign in what appeared
to be a rural area to me.I thought I
was going 40 mph, but the Sheriff said I was going 48 mph.He asked me what I was doing in the area, and
when I told him that I was visiting Kerr WMA and he saw my camera equipment
still on the front passenger seat, he realized that I was a tourist to the
area.He let me off with a warning
stating that he did not want to discourage tourism to the area.How lucky can I get!

I headed west on I-10 toward Fort Stockton on my way to Big Bend National Park to try for Colima Warbler. At about 10:30 pm, I started getting tired, and pulled into a rest area to take a nap.

Black-capped Vireo and Golden-cheeked Warbler increase the list to 549.